As Expected
by wee kraken
Summary: How did Four really get that fluke Abnegation result on his aptitude test? What if he didn't? Told from the POV of the Candor that tested him. Pre-Divergent one shot.


**Hi there - I'm taking a short break from my other story, "Killing Four," because I had this idea for a one-shot. How did Tobias really get that fluke Abnegation result on his aptitude test? What if he didn't? Told from the POV of the Candor woman who tested him. This was fun to write - love to know what you think about it!**

**Don't own anything from Divergent of course. Not that any of you think that I did.**

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"Are you ready, Tara?"

I look up from the tangle of wires to see Natalie Prior standing at the glass door.

"Almost. Give me five minutes and then bring in the first victim."

She smiles politely, lips closed, but I can see her eyes twinkle. Unlike a lot of the Abnegation leaders, Natalie has a sense of humor. I've always liked her.

Most Candor don't like working with Stiffs, but I don't mind them. They may not be forthright, but they're always considerate - something you don't get much of in Candor headquarters. Maybe that's why I keep volunteering to run the aptitude tests every year. That, and the fact that the tests never lie. For some kids, it's the first time they really see their true nature.

I finally get the wires straight and plug them into the terminal. At five minutes on the dot, Natalie is back with a tall Abnegation boy with dark hair. She smiles at him and gently pushes him into the room. I bring up the records on the computer.

"Name?" I ask crisply.

"Tobias Eaton," he says quietly.

I look up. He's tall, broad-shouldered, but skinny, the loose grey clothes not quite concealing his bony knees and sharp elbows. He's probably grown a foot in the past year. Nice eyes though, dark blue. It's pretty clear where those came from.

"Aha, Marcus's boy. I bet your father is a little nervous today," I smile at him, to show him I'm joking, even if it's probably true.

He stares at me, poker-faced, and doesn't reply. Then I notice his hands are shaking.

"Have a seat, Tobias."

He sits in the chair nervously. I place the electrodes on his forehead, and connect them to mine. I pick up the cup of serum and hand it to him.

"What is this?" he asks.

"You need to drink it," I reply.

"Why? What's going to happen?" he says. They all ask this. None of them get a real answer.

"You'll find out soon enough. Relax, it won't hurt you."

He looks at me warily, then tips his cup and drinks. His eyes close and the simulation begins.

Tobias stands in front of the baskets, looking from the cheese to the knife, Jeanine's nasal voice in his head.

"Choose!"

He frowns and folds his arms, hesitating. My eyebrows rise. Clearly this one doesn't like being told what to do. But he'll choose eventually. They all do.

"Choose!"

He nods his head, decision made, and walks over to the basket on the left. The knife. I sit up straighter. Maybe Marcus _should_ be nervous, because that is not a typical Abnegation response. They avoid weapons at all costs.

The door opens, and the beastly dog bounds in. That thing terrified me during my own test years ago. I threw the cheese at it, as far away from me as possible.

The dog sees Tobias and growls, baring its teeth. If he's Dauntless, he'll kill it. He walks toward it, knife raised. But he doesn't strike. He just stands there, ready to defend himself. It's an unusual response, but eventually he'll have to act - the dog will force the issue. It snarls. And then Tobias does something completely unexpected. He kneels down and looks the alpha dog in the eye. Not smart. _I think I can eliminate Erudite._

But then I get a look at the kid's eyes. They are frightening - cold, angry, and dangerous. Clearly, the dog agrees with me. It tucks its tail and whines.

I'm not sure what this means. The only faction Tobias has eliminated so far is Amity, when he rejected the cheese. I hit a few keys and up the ante. A little girl in a white dress enters the room, sees the dog, and squeals in delight.

"No!" Tobias yells.

I can't tell if he's talking to the girl or the dog. The beast turns and growls, savage again. It tenses its muscles to spring.

Tobias steps in front of it just as it leaps. _Selfless even in the face of danger. Abnegation._ But then with no hesitation, he grabs the dog by the neck, snatching it out of mid-air - and stabs it in the throat. _Deadly. Brave. Dauntless._

I sit back in my chair and gasp, watching the blood drip down the kid's arm. Where the hell did he learn to do that? His reflexes are incredible. I shake my head to clear it. This is not good. I still don't know what faction he belongs in.

Tobias drops the dog with a grimace and wipes the blood off on his pants. Then it all disappears. He turns and looks around, angry.

"Is that it? I had to kill something? What does that tell you about me?" he shouts.

I have to get him out of there. I turn to the computer and type again. The scene dissolves into a city bus. Tobias is standing, holding onto a pole. I remember this one well. This is the simulation that told me I was truly Candor, like my mother and father and brother before me. When I held my bleeding hand over the glass at my Choosing Ceremony, no one was surprised.

A scarred man clutching a newspaper turns to Tobias. "Do you know this guy?" he asks, tapping a picture above a news article about a murderer. It's always the same.

Tobias squints at the picture, and says nothing.

"Well, do you?" says the man angrily.

Tobias straightens up, and his face is a placid mask, pure Stiff.

"I'm sorry, I don't." He's polite when he lies.

The man rises from his seat and gets in the kid's face. "You're lying. You're _lying_!" he shouts.

"I'm not."

Tobias's heart rate doesn't even increase. He's not just lying, he's lying well. _I guess I can cross Candor off the list._

"I can see it in your eyes," says the man.

"You don't know me," says Tobias quietly, his eyes fierce.

"If you know him, you could save me. You could _save_ me!"

Tobias leans in and looks the sinister man straight in the eye.

"I could," he hisses. "But I won't."

The test ends, and Tobias sits up, gasping. I stare at him for a moment, still in the fog of the simulation. He looks at me, his eyes wide.

"That was…it was…" he sputters.

"Awful," I finish for him. "I know."

"Does everyone get the same test? Or was mine…worse than most?" he asks. I get it. He thinks there's something wrong with him.

"It's the same for everyone," I reassure him. "Though everyone makes different choices."

He nods, calming, his face once again blank, unreadable Abnegation.

"So what am I?" he asks quietly.

"What?"

"What faction do I have the most aptitude for?"

I don't know the answer to that question. I pause. "Let me go get you a glass of water."

I leave the room quickly and shut the door. I lean against the wall, and worry. I do know - Tobias is Divergent. He had aptitude for Abnegation and Dauntless, and possibly even Erudite. The last thing he said to the man on the bus was pure Candor, though he lied too easily to really belong with us. I've only had one person test Divergent before, Nadiah, a Dauntless-born girl who qualified for Dauntless and Erudite. I reported the results like I was required to do, and told her the truth. She chose the faction she came from.

I got her brother the next year. When I asked after Nadiah, he told me she died during initiation. Suicide.

It makes me uneasy.

I go to the kitchen and get a cup of water for Tobias. I look at the clear water, swirling into the glass, and I make a decision.

For the first time in my life, I am going to lie.

I walk down the hall to the main computer terminal and access the server for the test results. I find Tobias's name, and erase the video file. Then I enter his result manually. I take a deep breath. Now I have to go lie to his face, and it isn't going to be easy.

I enter the testing room, and hand him the water. He takes a small sip, and looks at me expectantly. I can't meet his eyes.

I fiddle with the wires, bring up his record on the computer screen, and sigh.

I turn to look at him. "Your results were as expected, Tobias. Abnegation."

His face freezes, and for a moment he looks terrified. I frown at him, concerned. I chose Abnegation because it was safer, because I was sure he wouldn't really want to leave his family and friends behind. And with Marcus for a father, he would do well there, I'm sure of it.

The lie told, now I can look him in the eyes. I see no fear. In fact, I see no emotion at all. Maybe I imagined it.

"Are you ok?" I ask him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am, thanks. I guess I know what to choose now," he says, looking at the wall.

I feel a sudden stab of guilt. I've been dishonest. I've turned his simulation into a lie. Maybe there's a way to tell him.

He turns to go, and I stop him.

"Tobias," I put my hand on his arm, and he stiffens. "The tests tell you nothing. Your choice is your own."

He looks at me briefly, and his jaw sets. He looks older than his sixteen years. I can tell he's made his decision, and I have a feeling it's not Abnegation.

"Thanks," Tobias says, and he walks out the door.

Natalie comes knocking a few minutes later.

"Ready for the next one?" she asks.

"Sure, send them in."

She turns to leave and pauses. "How did Tobias do?"

I frown. She's not usually curious about results. She's a Stiff. She's not supposed to be curious about anything.

So I lie again.

"Abnegation. Of course."

She smiles. "His father will be happy."

I look at her calmly. Lying is getting easier all the time.

"Yes. Yes he will."


End file.
